Category: Change

Reading Time: < 1 minute The high-end (i.e. so-called “white collar”) jobs in our economy have been less affected by the rise of the internet than producers and distributors of goods and those holding lower level service jobs.   If you’ve been spared so far, the party may be over soon. Venture capitalist Andrew Chen offers a

Reading Time: < 1 minute GM CEO Mary Barra caught the attention of the business world this past week when she announced that the company would cut 14,000 jobs, idle seven plants and eviscerate its sedan line in favor of SUV and cross-overs.  Ms. Barra has made several big bets here; not only in terms

Reading Time: < 1 minute You are no doubt aware of the disruption caused by recent startups like Uber and Zipcar which provide rides and autos on demand, eliminating the need to own a car.  In an interconnected economy, this trend should not be ignored by anyone.   Futurist and Speaker David Houle in a recent

Reading Time: < 1 minute Netflix comes to mind when we think of disruption of established business models;  in this case the Hollywood Studios.  Netflix’ success seems to some as just being in the right place at the right time and as surfers say, “catching a wave.”   It’s always hard to untangle the relative influence

Reading Time: < 1 minute If you began your career in the 70’s or 80’s, the business book everyone read was Tom Peters’ “In Search of Excellence” which looked at how successful companies executed strategies in an enduring way. With several decades of additional study of successful companies under his belt, Mr. Peters is back with

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sears has been struggling for many years but the speculation of the past few days that it may bypass Chapter 11 reorganization entirely and proceed to Chapter 7 Liquidation indicates just how hopeless many of its lenders believe the company’s situation has become.  This article from Business Insider tells in a

Reading Time: < 1 minute Many aging boomers are looking forward to retirement so they can, “ check out”.   Not Paul Tasner.  A few days before Christmas in 2007 at the age of 64, Mr. Tasner was called into a meeting and fired as director of operations for a company where he had worked for

Reading Time: < 1 minute Speaking of disruption…..most family businesses vanish by the third generation; public companies typically disappear in even less time.  But a few, both for profit and not,  somehow persist for a century or more.   One key according to research on this phenomenon is finding a way to be “radically traditional.”   Find out what the

Reading Time: < 1 minute Disruption comes in two basic flavors: new companies disrupting the old ones, and the established firms under siege who figure out a way to recapture their success. If you’d like some great examples of both, check out a series of videos created by State Street Global Advisors that “uncovers the

Reading Time: < 1 minute Automation has impacted the manufacturing of every product, reducing the amount of labor required to produce everything. If you’d like an object lesson on the impact of automation, look no further than Mr. Rogers (that’s right, the late Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers neighborhood) and Wired Magazine. Over three decades ago,